


Loyal Ties & Rivaled Lies

by hojjangg



Category: Monsta X (Band)
Genre: Angst, Dystopian, M/M, all aboard the angst train choo choo, loosely based off All In
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-09
Updated: 2020-05-09
Packaged: 2021-03-02 23:42:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,585
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24085291
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hojjangg/pseuds/hojjangg
Summary: “Hoseok!”It was a sigh of relief, a declaration of joy.It was Hoseok’s worst nightmare.
Relationships: Lee Hoseok | Wonho/Yoo Kihyun
Comments: 4
Kudos: 13





	Loyal Ties & Rivaled Lies

**Author's Note:**

> I love making my bias suffer apparently ¯\\_(ツ)_/¯

Hoseok had always been loyal. 

For as long as he’d had this job, he’d believed in his leaders, and their work.

He was a man full of faith, and a never ending positive attitude that what they were doing was for the best. For everyone.

That is, until Yoo Kihyun came along.

The laneways were dark; the night was silent. Hoseok’s dull shadow was painted on the buildings as he traversed from one alley to another; footsteps careful, and mind alert. 

But never too careful. 

This area, like many others he had visited in the last several months, was mostly uninhabited. Under the new political power, the streets were a war zone, and soldiers had free reign over whatever they found. 

As a civilian, the best way to identify one of these soldiers was by the badge they wore from the capital, and Hoseok’s was reflecting the moonlight as he ducked under the fallen awning of an old factory. 

His earpiece crackled for a moment, the signal suffering due to the distance he had put between himself and the small group of men he was leading. 

“Wonho,” a voice came through then. “We just cleared the east side, no sign of anyone. How are you going?” 

Hoseok stepped over pieces of debris that appeared to belong to the roof of the factory at one point, surveying the small space. At a glance, it mostly just looked like an abandoned mess, but he picked up on a few small details that pointed to something else.

_Oh no…_

“Nothing here either,” he croaked in response, before clearing his throat and pressing forward. As he stepped further into the factory, his stomach slowly twisted. It couldn’t be. He had to be wrong. Please, let him be wrong.

But, lo and behold, when he silently shuffled over to a broken wall separating the main floor of the factory from the back rooms, he saw something. A figure, crouched by the corner, hurriedly throwing objects into a backpack like his life depended on it. 

Hoseok would recognise that profile anywhere.

Yoo Kihyun. 

It was a shock, really, to see him here. After months of searching, hoping, fearing, he was finally right there. 

And it was the worst possible thing that could have happened. 

The choked sound had passed his lips without him meaning to make any noise, and the figure froze, snapping their head in his direction. It was all over.

Those dark eyes had landed on him, and recognition burst within their depths. 

“Hoseok!” 

It was a sigh of relief, a declaration of joy. 

It was Hoseok’s worst nightmare. 

“Kihyun,” he said, as his hands began to shake. “Ki, you have to-”

“I can’t believe this,” Kihyun had jumped up, his eyes wide and full of hope. “You’re actually here. You’re-” 

Hoseok threw his hands up, panic setting into his bones. “I’m not, I-I can’t. You can’t be here.” 

The soft smile on the man’s face was carving straight into his chest. “I know,” Kihyun said gently. “We’re leaving, come with us.” 

Hoseok wished it were that easy.

He’d known Kihyun way back when things were normal, when things were happy; supposedly. They both worked as assistants in the parliamentary office, running everyday errands and ensuring the day to day comings and goings happened smoothly. 

Hoseok hadn’t had any reason to complain about the job beforehand, but there was a noticeable difference in his behaviour after Kihyun arrived. His coworkers noticed it, too - he was happier. Something about having Kihyun around just brightened his day, and the two became very good friends in the time they spent working together. For Hoseok though...well, it wasn’t until later that he realised it was much more than that for him. 

Sometimes, when he was foolish enough to think back to those times, he would wonder what things would’ve been like if none of this mess had happened. If he would have gotten the courage to tell Kihyun how he felt. If they could’ve been happy...together. 

Hoseok had been the personal assistant of the top running candidate - Choi Wonsik- a highly respected man who promised to do an insane amount of good for the civilians. He had a few bad rumours circling the community, but they always disappeared as soon as they surfaced, and as Hoseok had thought at the time there was no possible way any of them could have been true. He’d never known a man more dedicated to his people and his purpose. 

He trusted his boss immensely. So, maybe that was why it was so hard to believe when Kihyun had revealed to him that things weren’t quite as they seemed. 

It was an accident. Kihyun had been caught snooping around Wonsik’s office by none other than Hoseok himself. It hadn’t made any sense to the latter as to why Kihyun would be there, so he spilled the beans. 

“I didn’t want to get you involved,” Kihyun had admitted quietly. “But you also deserve to know what’s actually going on.” 

Unbelievable. That’s all Hoseok had been able to think when Kihyun had explained to him just what Wonsik had planned. It couldn’t be possible, it was insane. It was ridiculous. He spent most of his time with this man who he trusted immensely, it couldn’t possibly be true. It was simply unbelievable.

So, he chose to ignore it. He was far too fond of Kihyun to rat him out for snooping around, so he agreed to keep his mouth shut, and went on about his day as if nothing had happened. Whatever it was would sort itself out without his involvement, right? 

Wrong. Only days later, when they were a mere fortnight away from the election, everything had changed. He’d been so busy preparing that he hadn’t noticed the people disappearing, or paid any attention to the strange news stories popping up. He hadn’t even realised anything was going on at all until he heard a shout of fury just outside of his office.

He hadn’t seen Kihyun in days, not since they’d parted ways in Wonsik’s office, and now the man was being dragged by his neck into the elevator, kicking and cursing like no tomorrow. 

Hoseok’s stomach had dropped to the floor. 

“What’s going on?” he’d asked the people around him, before noticing the empty office across from his own, papers strewn everywhere in a complete mess. “Where is everyone?” 

“Don’t ask,” a woman had whispered, shuffling nervously. “Or you’ll be next.”

“What?” he’d been completely baffled, “What do you mean?” 

“She means,” another man said, quietly slipping up beside them. “That Wonsik’s gone mad and is taking over the place.” 

“What about-”

“The election?” the man asked, before letting out a dry laugh. “Canned, the opposition are all dead.” 

There had been riots, there had been home invasions, there had been bloodshed. And Hoseok had never felt more guilty in his entire life. 

Even now, as he finally stood in front of Kihyun again, after months of wondering if he were alive or dead, the guilt was eating him from the inside out. 

Back then, in Wonshik’s office, Kihyun had been so understanding. “I don’t blame you for not believing me, but when shit does hit the fan,” he’d said quietly, “Come with us. You’re always welcome with us.” 

But Kihyun had been caught before the fury, and then he’d escaped without a word, and Hoseok had been dragged into the war on the wrong side. 

And he was still on the wrong side. 

“Come with us,” Kihyun said to him, holding out his hand as his eyes gleamed with hope. 

Hoseok’s gut lurched. There were so many things he wanted to say, but couldn’t.

_I’m so sorry. I should have believed you._

_I missed you._

_I love you._

“Ki, I-”

“Kihyun!” 

It was sudden. A shout of fear, of fury, of unbridled protectiveness, and it was followed by a stabbing pain right in Hoseok’s side. 

He only half heard Kihyun’s shout of shock, followed by a, “Changkyun he’s my friend!” as he crumpled to his knees, pressing a hand into his side where he’d been stabbed. He could vaguely hear Kihyun dismissing the man who’d attacked him, along with the retreating footsteps and muttered apologies.

“Hoseok,” Kihyun’s worried voice was right in front of him, as cold hands pressed to his cheeks. “You’re okay, it’s gonna be okay.” 

The soldier violently shook his head, trying to push the man away. “No,” he said, his hand landing on Kihyun’s chest as he gave him a hard shove. Ki’s tailbone hit the ground with a thud, and he stared at Hoseok with wide, confused eyes.

“Leave,” Hoseok ground through his teeth, trying to ignore the pain in the side and the blood seeping through his fingers. “Now.” 

Kihyun tried scrambling to his feet, “But, you should-” 

“I can’t!” 

And it was then, as Hoseok shouted those words with eyelids pressed shut, that Kihyun heard the anguish in his voice, and he paused. He stood there, watching his old friend as he knelt on the floor, holding onto his wound and breathing heavily, and the first of the tears slipped down his cheeks. 

“Kihyun,” he rasped. “They have my mother.” 

Just as those words began to sink in, just as the dread climbed its way up the back of Kihyun’s throat at the thought of Hoseok’s mother, his sweet, loving, supportive mother being held by those bastards, he spoke again.

“They sent me to kill you.”


End file.
